As she prepared herself for the long day ahead, Hermione kept seeing Draco again. She kept remembering how she felt, how she had stood at the moment of hearing his declaration. "I love you." The crystal goblet she had held so calmly was shaking. She, and the friends she didn't see, were in shock. She knew Draco felt something for her. Cared for her. But love?

Now, in her room, sitting at the mahogany dressing table, her make-up and perfumes and some household potions laying in front of the large mirror, she remembered all that had happened in the past few weeks, and even a little of her days at school. She stared at her reflection, remembering how she had looked then.

Her hair had been nearly uncontrollable, her eyes a lighter shade. Her face had been rounder, as children and teen's often are. She had definitely been much shorter, especially in those first two years. By third year, she had begun to grow a bit, both physically, she remembered fondly, and in her attitude. That had been the year she'd punched Draco.

She remembered seeing him many times during her years, of course. He'd been good-looking, then, she supposed. She hadn't fawned over him as some Slytherin girls did, but then again, why would she have? He'd never paid more attention to her than to call her Mudblood every now and then, make a snide comment or two, or in some other way try to degrade her. Of course, he'd always failed, but not for lack of trying.

She might even go so far to say that she admired his looks. Not a crush or anything, but she had once caught herself truly looking at him. It had been in the Great Hall, fifth year, and she'd been just gazing around the extraordinarily large room. Her eyes had rested on his features, and after a minute or two, she realized she'd been gazing at Malfoy, someone who hated her background, and her friends. Well, she chuckled, reminding herself, the background they had believed was hers.

And then, no more than a few weeks ago, she had seen him for the first time in years. Of course, she'd seen his picture in the Daily Prophet. That was no surprise, after all, she had even, she realized, read about Lauren Drake's death. But after all those years, he just Apparates into her bedroom, only half-way dressed.

And she had definitely gazed then. But, of course, who wouldn't have? First of all, it was hard to not notice. Second, he really was a dreamy sort of guy. Truly handsome. Thirdly, she was in shock, she defended herself, since he had just appeared in her brand new bedroom, in a house she'd lived in less than a week.

She found herself sighing, remembering that image of Draco, and others… Okay, so she felt kind of strongly for him as well. She really did care for him. She might even… There is a strong possibility, she thought, that I love him.

And that should be just fine, since she was preparing herself for her wedding day. And he had told her the night before that he loved her. Except, she couldn't quite find it in her to truly believe either of them. Hermione hadn't really had that much experience with love. She was feeling butterflies, but those could be wedding jitters. She felt lightheaded, but that could be her bride's nerves. She had spent a half hour or more staring in the mirror thinking about him, but that might just be because he had told her he loved her about ten hours ago.

And how did he know for sure he loved her? She knew he thought he did. He had been too passionate about what he'd said for it to be untrue. The look in his eyes at that moment had told her that those three words rang true in his mind. She was pretty darned sure he hadn't said it to those other many, many women and girls he had dated.

So how did either of them know for sure what love really was? She shook her head, and focused back on her reflection. She stared at it yet again, but only for a moment, and she realized it.

People just know. It could be from the first moment, or it could be years and years after they meet. But when it happens, you know you're in love. You just know.

And the look in her eyes was so like the look his had held the night before, she knew that they both were right.

As the familiar music played, Hermione walked forward slowly. She was scared to death, but sure this was right. And what she saw in front of her confirmed it. She looked straight into that pair of steely eyes, and she just knew that what she'd been thinking earlier in her room was right – people just know.

As Draco bent towards her to kiss her after they had exchanged vows, she whispered to him the words she couldn't handle the night before.

"I love you, too."

As they made toasts, Adam Drake looked at his daughter happily. And he knew that this was a match made in happily ever after. He held his wife's hand, knowing she saw the same. With the looks Draco and Hermione shared, the Drakes knew that this had never been an arranged marriage for those two.

A/N: You people made me soooo happy! You could not believe me. I loved getting online and seeing all the reviews!

I delved a bit deeper into Hermione's brain than I expected, and still it only got 2 pages.

Anyway, the reviews are majorly appreciated.

Jennifer-Marie – Thanks for all of the reviews you put for every chapter! A lot of your comments made me laugh.

Cal8907 – Aww thanks! And wait no more! xD

Madam Sorceress – Of course it's a good thing! There is no such thing as too much fluff, right? Well. Unless you're mega-goth or something… Well. Yeah.

WildMage1245 – Don't be envious! I read some stories and I can see how far I have to go. A lot of my style comes from tons of reading (both books and stories on here) and lots and lots of roleplaying when I can find the time.

Daigona – Thanks for the compliments and the help.

To all of you – I'm so glad you like Adopted! I'm sorry, but this story got a little bit out of hand, so I have to re-outline the last few chapters, so there may or may not be an update next weekend… My junior year is seriously hectic, along with the fact that we're moving from Tennessee to Michigan soon, so there's a lot of stuff to do!